My Christmas Top Ten List

In the past weeks I have been sifting through memories of Christmas past....and decided on a top ten list to reminisce. Some of this will make sense to no one but my family...but none the less....
Here we go......

Erin's Top Ten Christmas Memories

10. "Fishing" in Grandma and Grandpa's pool with my new "billa-bo", complete with spankin' new bright yellow and brown 'brownies' sweat outfit and white snow boots. Classic.
9. A family trip to the snow to get our tree.....what's that Erin needs to go to the bathroom?.....ok, Mom and Dad I will go off I went into the woods where I am safe and protected like you said.....only to turn around to see I was being VIDEO TAPED. Thanks Mom and Dad.....that tape was hopefully destroyed.
8. Waking up at 530 am to rush through Christmas morning to send Dad our hero off to work at "Mount Olympus" aka the fire house. Really....we secretly loved that we got to get up that early, as if we were even sleeping when Mom and Dad busted in with the VIDEO CAMERA...see a trend here folks.
7. The smell of the rank a$$ bone that Chelsea our chocolate lab would chew on as we all sat around opening gifts....literally that odor could have knocked you out....but boy did she love it!
6. The year Santa made a scavenger hunt for Tommy to search the house for his PlayStation.
5. The infamous SF Giants versus Oakland A's starter jacket year. Potentially the best all time Christmas photo we have of a 5 year-old Tommy mean mugging the camera. I'm smiling in my A's coat and he is mad doggin' in his Giants coat....as though the harder you looked the better your team was......it only fed into the competition that morning as we played duck hunt on our new Nintendo until our hands and arms went numb.
4. Learning how to make tea ring with Dad.....and making a better one than him. Ok, ok, so it only happened once.....I'll hold on to that victory forever ;) Half the fun is delivering them.
3. Making Kahlua fudge, cream sherry and egg nog cake with Mom.....wondering "can I really eat that? It has alcohol in it!"
2. Singing Christmas songs.....um I'm calling us both out Tommy....can you say RAFFI! Oh yeah. "Must be Santa, must be Santa, must be Santa Clause......Up at night with a beard that's white; ho, ho, ho; cherry nose; cap on head and a suit that's red....must be Santa, must be Santa.....". Not to mention.... Alabama's Christmas album, "Thistle hair the Christmas bear spreading good news everywhere about Christmas time and what it means....to all the children of the world, every little boy and girl out there.....LOVES THISTLE HAIR!"
1. Being with family Christmas morning....tea ring....Christmas music....Mom trying to remember which numbered present went to each kid.....opening a numbered gift that was clearly not yours.....ah....the memories (((sigh)))

"Christmas memories of happy years gone by, they come back to me and keep me warm inside, they mean so much to me....it's those Christmas memories....that make me cry...."

Wishing everyone a very Merry Christmas, safe travels and I hope, hope, hope you all get to where you need to be.....to spend this special time of year amongst the best of family and friends.